THE #1 KILLER IN PHOTOGRAPHY
I have talked about this before, but it is worth repeating.
All cameras have what's called a built-in light (or exposure) meter. The good news is that
they usually do exactly what they are engineered to do. The bad news is that what they
were engineered to do is often not what we want in our photographs. To keep it simple,
if we photograph something dark or black, the meter will try to lighten it up as close as
possible to gray. If we photograph something bright or white, it will try to darken it as
close as possible to gray. That doesn't sound good, huh?
The good news is that there is a simple way to override your built-in meter. It's called the exposure compensation dial on your camera. Look for it in your camera manual. It will
either show you something like -.3, -.6, -1 or +.3, +.6, +1, etc. On some cameras, you'll
see a scale that looks like this: -3. . .-2. . .-1...0...+1. . .+2. . .+3, etc. All these numbers
mean is that if you move your exposure compensation dial toward the minus side (from
zero, or 0), your are underexposing your picture, or darkening it. If you move it toward
the plus side (from zero, or 0), you are overexposing your picture, or lightening it.
they usually do exactly what they are engineered to do. The bad news is that what they
were engineered to do is often not what we want in our photographs. To keep it simple,
if we photograph something dark or black, the meter will try to lighten it up as close as
possible to gray. If we photograph something bright or white, it will try to darken it as
close as possible to gray. That doesn't sound good, huh?
The good news is that there is a simple way to override your built-in meter. It's called the exposure compensation dial on your camera. Look for it in your camera manual. It will
either show you something like -.3, -.6, -1 or +.3, +.6, +1, etc. On some cameras, you'll
see a scale that looks like this: -3. . .-2. . .-1...0...+1. . .+2. . .+3, etc. All these numbers
mean is that if you move your exposure compensation dial toward the minus side (from
zero, or 0), your are underexposing your picture, or darkening it. If you move it toward
the plus side (from zero, or 0), you are overexposing your picture, or lightening it.
Now, here is where this really becomes meaningful and useful, even to the most amateur
or beginning enthusiast. Let's say you are photographing rows and rows of beautiful white aspens.The meter cannot think; it does not know that you want to photograph white
aspens. It is engineered to give you "gray" aspens. And, trust me, It will give you gray
aspens, as in this photo.
or beginning enthusiast. Let's say you are photographing rows and rows of beautiful white aspens.The meter cannot think; it does not know that you want to photograph white
aspens. It is engineered to give you "gray" aspens. And, trust me, It will give you gray
aspens, as in this photo.
Psychologically, we are programmed to "see" aspens as white. These Aspens,
therefore, may not look gray.......until, you compare them to these....
therefore, may not look gray.......until, you compare them to these....
exposure compensation dial toward the plus side, anywhere from a +1 to a +2,
until it looks right to you. This image was shot at approximately a +1.3.
Think of it this way: minus means less; less means less light; less light means
darker. Conversely: plus means more; more means more light; more light means
lighter.
Experiment and have fun with it. You will need to use this in 2-3 months when you
photograph snow, skiers in the snow, people in the snow, etc.
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